The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has announced the opening of the competition to design the velopark for the London Olympics and Paralympics.

The facility will include a permanent indoor track and a temporary purpose-built course for the Olympic BMX events, which will become part of the Olympic programme for the first time in Beijing in 2008.

After the Games, the site will be used to house a new road cycle circuit and mountain bike course, and will be connected to the Sustrans national cycle route network, while the BMX circuit is expected to be relocated.

The design team is expected to be appointed in the summer, before the appointment of a main contractor, to work up a brief for the facility in both competition and legacy forms.

A nationwide schools competition will be launched in April, enabling school children from across the country to put forward their ideas for the park. The winning school will work with the design team on the legacy format.

Manny Lewis, chief executive of the London Development Agency (LDA), said: "While the velopark will provide a world class sporting venue for visitors during the Games, its effect on Londoners afterwards will be just as important.

"The permanent cycling facilities that will remain in legacy will be a superb provision for amateur and professional cyclists alike. It is essential that we use the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to improve the health of Londoners by stimulating their sporting imagination."

The facility will be owned and operated by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) in legacy mode – see interview with chief executive Shaun Dawson in the current issue of Sports Management magazine. To subscribe call +44 (0)1462 431385 or visit www.leisuresubs.com